Toy cotton-boll



(No Model.)

B. S. LATHROP; TOY COTTON BOLL.

No. 558,733. Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

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ATENT TOY COTTON-B0 LL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,733, dated April 21, 1896. Application filed August 3,1895. Serial No. 558,051. (No model.)

T0 to whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. LATHROP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of De Kalb and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Toy Cotton-Boll, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of device generally applied to the ends of lead-pencils as ornaments and advertising mediums, although it may be used entirely as a toy and the object of my invention is to construct an imitation boll of cotton, which may be shown open, as if the cotton were ready to be picked, or shut, as it is before the boll is fully matured, when open to display an advertisement in the center and when shut to conceal it from view. I obtain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which I Figurel is a side view of my device, showing the cotton-boll closed. Fig. 2 is a side view of my device, showing the cotton-boll open. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end view of Fig. 2.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the different views.

My device is attached to a lead-pencil A or other small cylinder similar to apencil, which when so arranged forms part of the device.

I attach to the pencilA at about two inches from the end of the same four springs B B B ,B. These are fastened to the pencil in a suitable manner at a a and are so constructed that when at freedom they spread out from the pencil at the parts nearest to the end of the same. (This is shown in Fig. 2.) To the spreading ends of these springs are attached the four cup-like leaves 0 O O O, which form the shell of the boll. Around the end of the pencilA, I fasten a wad of raw cotton of sufficient size to represent a real boll, and also attach it to the inner sides of the leaves 0 C O 0. Around the pencilA, I place acylinder or sleeve D sufficiently loose on the pencil to slide freely back and forth. This sleeve D is spread a little at G, the end next to the boll, and may be scalloped at its edge to more nearly represent this portion of a real bell of cotton. WVhen the sleeve is pushed up against the boll, as shown in Fig. 1, it compresses the springs B B B B close to the pencil, and with them the leaves 0 O O 0, closing the boll, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 3. When the sleeve D is slid back away from the boll, it releases the springs 13 B B B, which spread out and open the boll, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. On the end of the pencil I fasten a circular plate F, upon which an advertisement may be placed. When the boll is closed, this plate F is hidden, and when the boll is open it is displayed, as shown in Fig. 4, with the cotton surrounding it.

The advantages of my device are that I obtain an interesting toy that may be attached to a great many things in common use-such as lead-pencils, penholders, &c.-and assists in calling attention to the advertisement displayed when the boll is opened.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A toy consisting of a rod or cylinder, springarms attached thereto, the free ends of said arms bearing plates; material to be displayed arranged inside the plates and a sleeve on the rod adapted to compress the spring-arms and close the plates together, substantially as de scribed.

EDWARD S. LATHROP.

\Vitnesses SAMUEL NESBITT EvINs, LUTHER HANSELL. 

